EU: The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has said Ireland will have to reform its system of compensating victims of crime following a decision by EU justice and interior ministers in Brussels yesterday, writes Denis Staunton in Brussels
The ministers agreed that all member-states should introduce measures to ensure "fair and appropriate compensation" for losses citizens suffer as a result of crime anywhere in the EU.
At present, foreign victims of crime in Ireland can receive "special damages" but are not entitled to compensation for pain and suffering.
"It will require us to put our thinking caps on," Mr McDowell said.
The ministers also agreed to introduce common rules on who can be granted asylum within the EU and what rights they will have once they are granted protection. The rules identify qualifications for being a refugee, outlining the nature and source of persecution and the reasons for it that can be considered.
It obliges EU countries to ensure that refugees' families can stay together and that any benefits provided guarantee an adequate standard of living.
Mr McDowell described the new rules as a key element in building a common EU asylum policy.
"These will offer protection to refugees and others in need of protection, and will assist in reducing secondary movements of asylum-seekers between our states and help to build confidence in our individual asylum systems," he said.
Earlier, the ministers welcomed the EU's newly appointed anti-terrorism co-ordinator, Mr Gijs de Vries, who told them he was more interested in improving existing security co-operation than in creating new institutional structures. Mr de Vries said afterwards that nobody could guarantee protection from terrorism but vowed to do all he could to prevent attacks while respecting civil liberties.